SI.com: It seems like youíve been in the running for every head-coaching job over the last few seasons only to watch someone else get hired. Former Celtics assistant Tom Thibodeau went through the same thing before the Bulls hired him last year. Did you ever feel like maybe you just werenít going to get a second chance?

Casey: [Laughing] Tom and I were the like twins going through the interview process. We are both coaches who did not play in the league, and a lot of our work was unnoticed and unglamorous. Tom did a great job in Chicago last season, and Iím so happy for him. Again, thereís always a reason you donít get hired. Thatís not an excuse. I donít think any other coach was more prepared than I was, but everybody just has a different taste, a different flavor. But I never laid awake at night thinking about it. I had jobs to do in Seattle and Dallas.

SI.com: I wonít rehash the whole Chris Mills/Kentucky scandal here, but you won a lot of money in the lawsuit that followed, and youíve basically been vindicated. Still, did you feel you just couldnít get a job in college basketball after that? Did you try?

Casey: I interviewed a couple of times, including at Western Kentucky University, after all of that stuff happened. But it was clear to be that I was an NBA guy through and through. I just didnít want to go back and deal with the recruiting aspect of college basketball.

SI.com: Youíre known first as a defense guy, and now youíre going to coach the team that has been the worst defensive team in the league over the last couple of seasons. Do you have a read on why theyíve struggled so much?

Casey: Itís a little early to say, even though Iíve watched a lot of game film. But the ďwhyĒ is not important to me. I donít know why, really. Itís a team that has the athletic pieces to be a better defensive team.

Itís all about what you emphasize as a coach. Jay [Triano] has done an excellent job at creating an offensive atmosphere, and I donít want to take away from that. But we have to have a defensive emphasis. We have to create a defensive identity. Every single day there will be a theme of the day about defense, whether it be working on one thing in regard to the pick-and-roll or man-to-man or whatever. There will be a theme every day until we get an identity we can compete with.

SI.com: Do you mean that literally ó that every time you guys practice or watch film, there will be one theme youíll focus on?

Casey: Yes, exactly. Thatís how you build. Take the defensive stance ó thatís the most fundamental thing. Thatís something we did in Dallas, in terms of going back to the fundamentals and working on that defensive stance so that you are ready to move and go. We are starting from scratch here in Toronto.

Casey: Oh, yeah. That started for me in Seattle, where we had Dean Oliver [now ESPN's director of production analytics]. I didnít really understand the value of those numbers at that point, even though Wally Walker [a longtime Seattle executive] was really pushing us to embrace it. But being from the old school of coaching, I didnít really know what to do with all of it.

And in Minnesota, we just didnít have anything like that. But in Dallas, Rick Carlisle and Mark Cuban have embraced analytical numbers, and they have been so valuable to us in terms of what lineups we put on the floor. And I know Toronto already has guys in place who do this. This is the new wave in the NBA.

SI.com: So you probably know about Basketball Value, the Web site that lists numbers for every five-man lineup. When you look at Torontoís lineups, you see immediately that almost every one that played a lot struggled on defense. And when you dig deeper, you see that nearly every lineup that included Andrea Bargnani was awful defensively. This is my way of asking: Can you build a good defensive team with Bargnani on the back line? Is it possible? How do you do it?

Casey: Well, heís not going to be our starting center, really [because he's more of a power forward]. Heís in a similar situation with Dirk Nowitzki at this point in his career. Iíd have to check their numbers, but Iíd venture to say at this point in his career, heís probably somewhere in the same area where Dirk was, where both have had to live down the reputation of being soft. And by the way, Dirk has never been anywhere near soft. Donít ever use that word with him.

SI.com: I wonít! Believe me!

Casey: Because heís one of the toughest, hardest-working guys in the league. I donít know Andrea. All I know is what Iíve read and seen. I am excited to get to know him. Heís going to get better defensively, and heís a great offensive player. But we have to work with him, coach him up and put him in the right situations so he is not exposed as much. I think Amir Johnson can be an above-average defender in the same position, and that we can put someone like Amir in a system so that Andrea is not exposed as much.

Look, our challenge is to find a five-man unit that is above-average defensively. Who that five will be, I just donít know at this point. But when you win 22 games, youíve got to change things. You canít come back with the status quo.

SI.com: Sticking with defense Ö You were an assistant with the Sonics in their 1990s prime and now with Dallas. Those teams, on the surface, would appear to be very different ó Seattle with all those athletes flying around in that crazy defense, and the old Mavericks getting by with guile. But were there principles both defenses shared? Stuff we should watch for in Toronto?

Casey: Itís funny, because people mostly remember Gary Payton and Shawn Kemp from those Seattle teams, and they were both really athletic and flying everywhere. But we also had an older Detlef Schrempf, an older Sam Perkins, an older Nate McMillan and other veterans like we had in Dallas.

And in Dallas, we had Tyson Chandler all over the place in the paint and on the perimeter. He was like our version of Gary Payton. Both teams were similar in that on the fly we could change defenses, switch, double-team, go into zone, that kind of thing. There was a method to the madness in both places.

SI.com: I have to say, I watch and re-watch a lot of basketball and a lot of individual possessions, and the Mavs are the only team over the last few years where Iíd watch a quick possession three or four times and not be able to decide whether you guys were playing zone or man.

Casey: Well, thatís a compliment to us. Youíre not an idiot. You want your zone to look like man, and you want your man to look like zone. The mix of the two is beautiful. You want to guard the ball man-to-man and play zone on the weak side. But both defenses should look the same.

SI.com: Will we see that kind of thing in Toronto? Do you have the right personnel?

Casey: Itís too early now. Iíve got to have a training camp before we make that kind of decision.

SI.com: Howíd you get that job as an assistant for the Sonics, anyway? You were coaching in Japan at the time, right?

Casey: Yes. It was through George Karl. We met one summer at the NBA Summer League, and he told me that Bob Kloppenburg, his lead assistant, was retiring. He was looking for someone to fill the position, and he asked me.

SI.com: Just like that? You must have had some prior relationship, right?

Casey: We had crossed paths on Shawn Kemp, since I had recruited him to Kentucky and coached him there, and the Sonics drafted him not long after that. So Shawn is really what connected us.

SI.com: And did you jump at the Sonicsí offer right away?

Casey: I did, but Iíll tell you what: It was a huge pay cut for me.

SI.com: From coaching in Japan in the 1990s?

Casey: Oh, yeah. Japan was paying pretty well, between my work with the national team and the club team. But I wasnít complaining.

SI.com: Talk about Coach Karl a bit. Tell us something about him that maybe doesnít get enough coverage.

Casey: Iíll tell you this: He is one of the best as far as being innovative and different on defense. A lot of what we see now in the league came from him ó the trapping, the double-teaming, showing hard on pick-and-rolls and the way he took advantage of the old illegal defense rules. All those innovative and non-traditional schemes, he was huge with that.

Casey: Oh, wow. I couldnít possibly pick one. I mean, we had Patrick Ewing, Gary Payton, Bill Cartwright, so many Hall of Fame guys ó Dirk and Jason Kidd in Dallas, too. Sam Perkins, he was such a great player. Some people donít realize how good he was. Even a guy like Ewing, who we had at the tail end of his career in Seattle, he was still so smart and effective in the paint.

SI.com: Another random one: Could you make the argument that Kevin Garnett is the best defensive player since Bill Russell?

Casey: Absolutely. You could make that argument, yes. He is one of the best I have ever seen.

I only read that and am pretending the rest doesn't exist and there is no context. La la la.... Can't hear or see anything else...

Tue Jun 28th, 2011, 03:24 PM

Employee

Well he's not gonna go out and say "We gonna trade his ass!"

Tue Jun 28th, 2011, 04:22 PM

ezz_bee

Is ed davis the odd man out? I haven't heard casey mention him in any of the interviews i've seen. to me it either looks like they are going to move him to the center spot (not sure he can play there, but hey) or he is on the trading block. I really really really like davis going forward and the only way trading him makes sense is if it is for a low lottery pick in next years draft. even then i'd probably pass.

Tue Jun 28th, 2011, 04:26 PM

Employee

Quote:

ezz_bee wrote:

Is ed davis the odd man out? I haven't heard casey mention him in any of the interviews i've seen. to me it either looks like they are going to move him to the center spot (not sure he can play there, but hey) or he is on the trading block. I really really really like davis going forward and the only way trading him makes sense is if it is for a low lottery pick in next years draft. even then i'd probably pass.

The one time I heard Casey mention Davis he basically said he doesn't know much about him. Sorry I don't remember where i read this.

Casey: Oh, yeah. That started for me in Seattle, where we had Dean Oliver [now ESPN's director of production analytics]. I didn’t really understand the value of those numbers at that point, even though Wally Walker [a longtime Seattle executive] was really pushing us to embrace it. But being from the old school of coaching, I didn’t really know what to do with all of it.

And in Minnesota, we just didn’t have anything like that. But in Dallas, Rick Carlisle and Mark Cuban have embraced analytical numbers, and they have been so valuable to us in terms of what lineups we put on the floor. And I know Toronto already has guys in place who do this. This is the new wave in the NBA.

If he really looks at advanced stats, then Bargnani's a goner, barring improvement the NBA has never seen before.

Tue Jun 28th, 2011, 06:44 PM

charlesnba23

I don't really like the way Dwane never talk about Ed Davis.

Tue Jun 28th, 2011, 06:51 PM

mcHAPPY

Quote:

charlesnba23 wrote:

I don't really like the way Dwane never talk about Ed Davis.

I know. I'm a little worried.

Tue Jun 28th, 2011, 07:09 PM

Soft Euro

Quote:

WhatWhat wrote:

If he really looks at advanced stats, then Bargnani's a goner, barring improvement the NBA has never seen before.

Casey won't use those stats of last year (and the years before) for making immediate line-up decisions. It's like he said, the defense has to be built up from scratch. Accountability and benching guys for not playing defense (which some posters have suggested) while not learning them how to play defense (which those posters did not suggest but seemed to be happening) is really just being a tough guy for the camera (and forums).

That's also why Ū support the dismissal of Triano. Some said "if we're not going anywhere, why not keep Triano for another year." But whomever of the current roster will be here for more years, they all need to improve (drastically) on defense. That has to be a focus of the player development. Getting all the right pieces and only then starting to learn them how to play defense would be disastrous.

Btw: this is not meant as an argument not to trade (or to trade) Bargnani

Tue Jun 28th, 2011, 07:19 PM

minks77

he really only ever mentions DeMar and Bargs and Amir (a little). I think they are the only 2 he's met and been prepped on by BCo. Dude just wrapped up a finals win, got hired, straight to the draft etc. He's finding his feet in a completely new environment so give him some time. Special Ed missed 30 games anyway so it's not like he was down in Dallas saying: "y'know what? That Ed Davis kid is something special. I should follow his twitter feed just in case I get hired by the raps this summer."

If he still doesn't know who Ed is in mid October THEN start worrying. Until then raps fans need to chiiiiiiilllllll. Every other thread is some conspiracy built on reading between the lines and being super paranoid.

Tue Jun 28th, 2011, 07:20 PM

Mack North

Quote:

Matt52 wrote:

I know. I'm a little worried.

I think you guys are reading way too much into it. I don't hear him speak of Bayless either, it doesn't mean they're going anywhere.

Tue Jun 28th, 2011, 07:34 PM

Father rev

Remember Ed and Demar is our 2nd and 3rd option, with Andrea being that streaky shooter.. We still looking for that missing piece to come forward and take over this ship in the form of a point gaurd or a center...

Tue Jun 28th, 2011, 07:38 PM

Soft Euro

Quote:

charlesnba23 wrote:

I don't really like the way Dwane never talk about Ed Davis.

Looking at 2012-2013 pairing Davis with Jonas V will have huge downsides considering both are not know for their ability to spread the floor. So, if at least one of them does not improve his scoring in this department, I don't think they will be seen as the two starting big man of the future.

If they sign a mediocre defensive center for this season it might mean that Bargnani will start (at the beginning of the season) with Johnson being the first big of the bench and Davis getting about 15-20 minutes tops. I highly doubt the silence means something like trading Davis before or during the season (what can you get in return not knowing what pieces żou can get in next year's draft), but (depending on how it all works out this season) maybe he'll be used to move up in the draft next year or get a second high pick to be able to draft a sf and a pg.

Tue Jun 28th, 2011, 10:53 PM

ceez

The never talking about Ed thing kind of worried me but I'll wait till a training camp. Him and BC never once mentioning the defensive potential of big Val and Ed playing together is what really worries me. They should all be salvitating over it.

Tue Jun 28th, 2011, 11:14 PM

MyMomLovesMe

I don't think I heard them mentioning Val or Derozan or for that matter many players, I wouldn't worry about it. I don't think anyone is making up their minds this early. We have a lot of cherries on the tree, lets wait till we see which ones are ready. Talent wise, we have a lot nice pieces growing at the same time.

Sometimes the ones he talks about the most now, are the ones he needs to focus on, or the ones he sees he can benefit most. Hence Andrea, and Derozan having the athleticism to be a great defender but it not showing on the others side of the ball. So the lack of talk may be a good thing.

(Basically, I don't think he is coming here with a closed mentality, and I have a feeling he talks about Davis plenty, just that there are limited sound bites and the reporters know that if you put Andrea's name into it it will get more hits.)

Wed Jun 29th, 2011, 06:10 AM

mcHAPPY

Quote:

Mack North wrote:

I think you guys are reading way too much into it. I don't hear him speak of Bayless either, it doesn't mean they're going anywhere.

Bayless doesn't play the same position as you know who.

Wed Jun 29th, 2011, 07:49 AM

Apollo

The Raptors need Jose Calderon

You know, before Casey got hired I was against Calderon coming back next season. However, after hearing a lot about how Casey wants the offense to run moving forward, as in free of play calling from the bench for the most part, the system seems to demand a good quarterback who can think on the fly. Those are difficult to find. The Raptors have a good facilitator now in Jose and unless they can find an upgrade by trading Bargnani then I have to admit, they need Jose Calderon this coming season or you're going to see a lot of 85-95 PPG outings by the Raptors. I don't know if Colangelo was on the horn with Denver but if he wasn't, he should have been. Ray Felton would have been a good long term upgrade to Jose.

Anyway, it is my hope that Casey can get Jose using his mind more on defense. Jose has the good size and is fast enough on his toes that he should be doing better than he has.

Wed Jun 29th, 2011, 08:22 AM

ceez

i have a feeling we're going to see a change at the point if bayless doesn't figure it out. casey's had gary payton and kidd as his point guards, high quality defenders who can run a team. in minnesota they drafted foye, but he's only really starting to pan out now.

if it were up to me, id try to get another mid first rounder and get teague or kabongo, but knowing BC i think he's going to try and get someone this offseason.

Wed Jun 29th, 2011, 08:45 AM

Apollo

Then maybe someone needs to break the news to Casey that he's probably not getting a hall of fame PG to work with again any time soon.

Wed Jun 29th, 2011, 09:08 AM

MyMomLovesMe

Casey likes Jose, he likes him a lot, he has states so in one of his interviews.

I think who plays and who doesn't is all speculation at this point. I don't want to judge players by Triano's time allotment and success. Casey will make the best with what he has, he seems genuine enough to get the players on the same page.